The Winter Collection
by NighttimePhilosopher
Summary: Amedot bomb 5 prompts! Day 4: Ice skating
1. Day 1: New Years

**It's the start of a New Year, and a new Amethyst. One with enough confidence to ask Peridot out.**

* * *

"Hoh boy…" Amethyst muttered to herself as she listened to her family start the New Year's countdown. She could hear Steven, Connie, Greg and surprisingly Garnet cheering the loudest, while Pearl clapped the tambourine she wielded and Lapis watched, looking confused.

"NINE! EIGHT!" they yelled excitedly, glancing to the clock on the television they had set up outside. The lighthouse was a popular point to watch fireworks in Beach city, but they were the only ones with a television set. It was probably because they lived at the beach house below.

"SEVEN! SIX! FIVE!" Peridot shouted next to Amethyst, squeaking excitedly. She held in her hand a sparkler as they leaned on the white picket fence, the beach and ocean stretching out beneath them.

"FOUR!" Amethyst's fake heart in her chest was really starting to hammer nervously. She could do this.

"THREE!" Everyone cried, growing crazy as the last three seconds of the year began. Amethyst made sure she was close to Peridot as possible, and that no one was watching. She would go through with this.

"TWO!" Peridot smiled wildly at her, and she forced a cheeky grin to hide her panic and restlessness as her foot tapped rapidly, flattening the grass under her. She promised herself.

"ONE! HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

It was now midnight, January 1st. The New Year. This was it.

Amethyst subtly grabbed Peridot's free hand, nudging first before gripping, getting the other gem's attention. She felt herself shaking and she hated it.

"Happy New Years, Peri." She turned and said, anxious but also excited. The green gem said the same thing with more enthusiasm, shouting it over the sound of the celebration. Amethyst guessed she really liked participating in the human ritual. Everyone else was cheering as the loud fireworks crackled, whirred and banged in the night sky above them. Amethyst wondered if Peridot could hear her heart amongst the noise.

"It's the start of the New Year" she started, sounding confident but feeling it fading fast. "D-Did you make a resolution?"

"A resolution? Were we…supposed to make one?" Peridot asked, holding the now dead sparkler to her chest. She was still smiling, but she looked confused and it was cute.

It made Amethyst laugh. "Heh, yeah, but it's alright."

Steven was yelling and clonking something metal with Greg, whooping and hollering with exceeding noise as the fireworks still zipped above them. It was quite noisy when Amethyst wanted this to be a quiet moment.

Now was the time. "My resolution – my New Year's one, I mean –" she flushed, annoyed at her own stumbling "is….it's to ask you out. Will you go out with me?"

Peridot stared at her, appearing stunned. Her head tilted and Amethyst thought she was taking it bad.

"I-I would really like it if we went out." She continued, trying to explain herself fruitlessly "I like you a lot, and, well…uh…" she trailed off, not sure what else to say. All she could do was wait for Peridot's answer.

Her hands ended up clammy and she was sure her face was an embarrassing shade of lavender. She let go of Peridot's small hand and gripped her shoulder nervously, clenching and unclenching her jaw. She was pretty sure her face looked hurt, but tried to play it off.

Then, finally. "Um, Amethyst…" Peridot began, the verdict in whatever she would say next. "Could you repeat that? I didn't hear what you said."

The purple gem's mouth went dry."W-Wha?"

"The celebration is too loud. Steven and Dad are making too much of a racket!" She explained, increasing her volume to try to be heard over the Universe's performance.

The quartz, with all her nerves feeling short-circuited, didn't think she could comply with Peridot and repeat what she said. It took too much willpower the first time. So she retook Peridot's hand. If she couldn't tell her, she would show her.

As a large firecracker went off, Amethyst tugged the green gem to her, moving her hands to cup her cheeks bravely. Peridot managed a "wha?" before the purple gem pressed their faces together. The quartz gem felt the technician's limbs spasm a bit before going rigid.

When she backed away, Amethyst spoke with confidence, despite her chubby cheeks flaring. "I said: Do you wanna go out with me?"

"I-I-I-I…wow, thanks" Peridot managed, looking like she would stumble over. Amethyst caught her and laughed.

"I'll take that as a yes."


	2. Day 2: Presents

**It strikes Amethyst suddenly that she now has a girlfriend, making her consider that she should probably do something romantic soon. Like give Peridot a gift.**

* * *

Amethyst lay on her belly, flat on top of the kitchen counter. She was thinking over some things, and having a fridge near her helped if she needed to eat. Her load was a heavy one to deal with.

It was only really hitting her now that she had gotten herself a girlfriend in the form of Peridot. A few days after New Years, the green gem had come over to visit, and she said she had come to the beach house to see her. As in, Amethyst. Not for a mission, not to go on adventures with the Shorty Squad. Not to use the better wifi. She just popped over to see her _girlfriend_.

And it had hit Amethyst hard, like a ton of bricks, like a monster's blow. The green gem had never used the term girlfriend or referred to herself as Amethyst's girlfriend, but that's what they were. Love interests, romantic partners, _girlfriends_. And it was the weirdest shock to her system.

When Peridot was over to spend time with her, they didn't really do anything romantic or flirty. They even spent most of their time with Steven. It was like nothing had changed. Maybe they cuddled a bit, but that was it. Not even a kiss goodbye.

But when they did part, Amethyst noticed Peridot give her an expression she hadn't seen before. It was really soft, and she'd never seen such shyness in the over-confident gem. It was after they hugged goodbye, probably their most affectionate gesture of the day. And then Peridot whipped away through the warp stream, back to the barn.

Amethyst had felt struck in the heart ever since. Peridot, who she had grown to adore and turned to pining over, was hers. She was liked back. And this was confirmed days ago, on New Years when she asked her out. But now it was actually happening and Amethyst felt somehow behind in her own life.

What did girlfriends even do? Well, of course she knew. But she couldn't imagine her and Peridot doing the conventional things, even though she had fantasized about kissing the green gem and going on cheesy dates before asking her out. It was weird now. Because it was possible now. Those things could happen, and the thought deepened Amethyst's cheeks.

The quartz went back to picturing Peridot's cute, shy face. It was such a magical few seconds. She imagined her other favourite faces too, like when she was surprised or awed with something. Amethyst liked how her eyes lit up and her pitch would ascend uncontrollably if she was excited. With Peridot, you knew whether she liked it or not because she'd actually show it through such behaviour. Then she'd promptly tell you her verdict, but by then you already knew it.

Once, Steven had gotten her a yellow bracelet, and she forced a 'wow, thanks' to try being polite, despite being completely in disdain of the item as she slipped it on. Everybody in the room knew she didn't like it and it was awkward. The purple gem's guess was because it was yellow in the first place.

Amethyst didn't want to get a bored face from Peridot if she gave her a gift. She wanted unbridled delight. And now since she had decided, yes, why not, she'd get her partner a gift out of nowhere (food-aided pondering becoming productive), she wanted the best for Peridot. Yes, this was something girlfriend-y and romantic she could do without turning into a sweating mess.

The temple door to Amethyst's room opened and the quartz went in, immediately diving into a junk pile. Now that she was getting/making/giving a present, she had no idea where to start. She snatched up a CD rack that was sitting near her. Her pudgy purple hand sifted through all the albums she had stored here, purposely together because they all had good drums to play along to. Maybe she could give the green gem a CD. _Instant Gratification, Mothership, Acceptance speech…_ all these were her types of music, not Peridot's.

Then she felt under her since she knew she was sitting on soft stuff. Amethyst pulled out a dark purple ripped t-shirt, the garb reminding her of Sugalite's duds. Clothes! Peridot loved earth attire! She imagined Peridot in the oversized shirt, the menacing colour mismatched with her tints of cheery green as she grinned regardless. It would look weird on her, and maybe everyone would think that Amethyst was a bad influence on her. Or something. Well, anyway, it would be a pretty good thing to wrap whatever she did give to Peridot in, since it was so soft and pretty much had no other use.

The quartz got off the pile with the wrapping t-shirt in hand, walking to her collection of plushies. She picked up a valentine's bear she had stolen years ago, looking at the heart the fluffy ursine held. Would Peridot like this? Would she _want_ this? No, Peridot was the type that needed, not wanted. She didn't _need_ that bracelet that Steven gave her. She didn't _need_ this bear. She needed something that would be useful to her.

Amethyst tried to think of a passion of Peridot's. She loved creating meep morp. But she'd already allowed the green gem to grab whatever she wanted from in here, save for private collections. So giving her something non-specific from here wouldn't really be giving a gift. Then what else? Amethyst felt herself getting desperate.

She swirled to another pile, and she felt herself collide with an idea. There, in reach, was a glinting metal spoon.

"Gotcha." She grinned.

* * *

The warp pad chimed, and in a flood of brilliant blue light, a short green figure stepped out into the beach house.

"Amethyst!" Peridot beamed, trotting over to the waiting gem. "It's good to see you again. What did you need me for?" she asked, showing a curious face. It was really cute and Amethyst nearly forgot her plan.

"Uh, w-well…" she stuttered, flustered by the green gem's appearance. "I wanted to give you this. It's a present for you. B-B-Because…y-you're my girlfriend." Nose dusted a deeper lavender, she held out the dark coloured t-shirt, now weighty with something else wrapped within it.

"Oh."

Peridot took the present and looked over it, running her hand over the pleasant fabric. "W-Wow, thanks." She said "But this is wrong. I can't take it."

"Huh?" Amethyst was dazed. The desired face was out of reach already… "But, you haven't even opened it…"

"It's-I haven't got anything to give you…" said Peridot dejectedly.

The purple quartz felt much relief at the further comment. Perked up, she reassured Peridot. "It's okay, you didn't know-"

"No, I do know!" Peridot growled, making Amethyst flinch and look at her properly to see was upset, with her face scrunched and hands balled. The green gem couldn't keep eye contact with her. "I've spent countless hours researching everything partners do, and techniques like how to successfully execute a 'flirt', and how to make a good impression on family, and how to respond to acts of affection, like this! So I know I should get you a present, but I didn't. Because I'm not a good girlfriend."

"Hey, whoa, where did this all come from?" Amethyst gulped, reaching her arms towards her frustrated partner.

"I'm not good at this. I have never 'gone out' with anyone before." She spat, clearly frustrated with herself.

The purple gem stood awkwardly, unsure of what to say and how to comfort Peridot. The gem sounded like she'd been busy thinking about their new type of relationship, not unlike herself. But Peridot had failed where she had succeeded.

"It sounds like you're thinking and not feeling." Amethyst rasped, closing the distance between them with a short step. Peridot tilted her head back up to see eye to eye with her, opening her mouth slightly.

"I'm made to think things through and research. Analyse. It's a peridot's job to consider-"

"Slow down, Peri" Amethyst said warmly, moving her big arms and pressing Peridot to herself. She flinched. "You don't needa overthink and overanalyse everything in a relationship. It's not your job. Otherwise you'll just get yourself in trouble. Like, right now."

"But I don't want to get this wrong!" Peridot cried, a desperateness in her eyes that the quartz felt pity for.

"Hey" murmured Amethyst. She stared with her deep eyes into Peridot's wide ones. The green gem's face got warmer. "Feel. Don't think."

She leaned her forehead into Peridot's smooth gem. Closing her eyes, she heard a nervous hitch in the other's breathing, as well as trembling in her limbs. Smiling as an idea came to mind, she reopened her eyes to look into her partners. Oh, she loved her jittery expression. "If you still feel like giving me a present" she whispered, surprisingly confident, making Peridot nod slightly. "Kiss me."

The green gem froze and her cheeks went blazing. "What?!" she squeaked out.

Amethyst didn't repeat it because she knew she'd falter.

Moving closer, Peridot hesitated before closing her eyes. Amethyst did the same, feeling their lips press together gently. She felt warm. The green gem was feeling, not thinking, and for that she was proud. When they pulled apart, they both fell into a giggling fit. Amethyst felt so happy and giddy that they could be like this.

"Hey, open your present." She ordered as they released each other. The green gem was still holding onto the t-shirt. She pulled the folds away to reveal the gift. A thin comic book, and a spoon placed on top of it. It was seemingly miscellaneous. "You can be like this guy, he has metal powers too." Amethyst pointed to the superhero drawn on the front cover. "You can read him saving the world and float your little spoon around for practice and stuff." She looked to Peridot again. "You like it?"

Peridot picked up the spoon with her ferrokinesis. "I needed this."

* * *

 **Rip my friends who know my music tastes. Instant Gratification is the best thing that's ever happened to me btw.**


	3. Day 3: Winter wear

**The story of how Amethyst's winter jacket was wrecked.**

* * *

"Heh, hey" Amethyst chuckled awkwardly, face a little hot in the light snow. "What bought this on?" she asked Peridot, who was currently hugging the heck out of her. The green gem pulled her face out of Amethyst's chest to respond, her emerald eyes shining with stars in them.

"I really love this thing that you are wearing." She said, rubbing her cheek on the surface of Amethyst's black poofy winter jacket.

"You only hug me for my clothes? Aw, I thought we had something…" Amethyst pouted, teasing.

"N-No! It isn't like that!" Peridot yelped, taking the bait way too easy. That's probably a reason why Amethyst liked her so much.

"Hahah, I forgive you." Amethyst snickered. They broke apart from hugging and instead held hands, Peridot's small hand bare against the purple gem's lavender mittens.

"Why are you wearing all this, anyway? What's the occasion?" The green gem asked, in her normal attire as snowflakes fell from the sky and snow squished under them as they began to walk.

"It's snowing. These are clothes you wear when you're cold."

"Even when gems don't get cold?"

"Yep." She stated lazily, popping the 'p'. She looked over to Peridot and swore she felt herself shiver when she saw her shoulders exposed to the very cold air around them. "Hey, you want this? You look frozen."

"Didn't we just agree that gems don't get cold?"

"Yeah, but just looking at you makes me feel chilly." She protested. "And since when do you object to trying new clothes?"

"Oh, okay, you're right. But let's get inside first."

"'Kay."

They opened the big barn door together since it had gotten a little frosted shut from the lightly snowy weather. A few pushes from Amethyst while Peridot pulled got it open.

Inside was only a little warmer since it was such a large and open building, but Amethyst was happy no more snow was falling down on poor Peridot's shoulders, even though she wasn't complaining nor did it have a negative effect on her. She just liked to see the green gem happy and safe, and while she was both of those things, Amethyst felt she wanted to do more. She wanted to protect her, protect her from the weather, irrationally, but it could grow nasty at any second, and-

"Amethyst, I want to try your soft 'cold weather' jacket now." Peridot was saying, waving a green hand in her face.

"Oh, right." The quartz agreed, pulled out of her stupor. She started unzipping it, little snow particles falling out of the purposeful creases with the movement.

"And the hand coverings, I want to know what the insides feel like."

Amethyst chuckled "Heh, geez, you wanna try 'em all, don't you?"

"Yes, yes I do, very much. Hurry up."

"Hmm…'cause you didn't say please, there is a now a condition to you wearing them."

"WHAT?! What is it, then?" Peridot hurried, desperate for the clothes.

"You gotta-I mean, you _must_ share them with me."

"How am I supposed to share clothes? They are meant to modify the appearance of the person wearing them, so only _one_ person can wear them!"

"Not if you try really hard. And if you wanna wear these clothes."

"Grr, you're really difficult sometimes."

"I'm a quartz, whaddya expect?" Amethyst winked.

Peridot huffed and shuffled closer to the purple gem. "How will we make this possible?" she asked with scrutiny, peering in the space she could see as Amethyst unzipped more of the jacket.

"Well, for starters, take one glove. Then we're sharin' those."

"I see." Peridot said, sliding the glove off from Amethyst's free hand. She put it on her own smaller hand. "Wow, it's nearly hot in here" she wiggled a bit, clenching her fingers "Like it has its own permanent, immovable temperature."

"My hand was in there, so it probably warmed it up a lot, Peri. I generate heat 'cause I'm hot." She grinned, swishing her hair a bit.

Peridot looked at her and Amethyst couldn't tell what she was feeling, but she was glad there was a smile there. The gem looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn't end up doing so.

The zipper of the poofy jacket was now completely open. "Alright, c'mere." Amethyst beckoned, holding the sides open. Peridot complied, holding her arms to her flanks as to not touch Amethyst more than necessary. She was still extremely flinchy when it came to physical contact, possibly because of Homeworld's dogma and not ever receiving love like this before. The purple gem knew they would eventually warm up to each other, as she herself was quite trembly too. It was just time and work and dedication.

"So what now? This just feels like a weird cuddle." Peridot grumbled into Amethyst's shoulder.

"I just-urg-zip it up" the purple gem said, struggling to close the jacket around them both. She got it (just) and pulled the tiny metal thing up in little yanks. "Stand a little closer to me."

"I don't think I can get any closer without fusing, Amethyst."

"Sure you can!" Amethyst said merrily before pushing at Peridot's back, causing her own foot to be trod on as the green gem stumbled forward. The jacket zipper was all the way up, but the two gems came crashing down as they lost their balance to momentum.

"This was a bad idea" Amethyst moaned. She was stuck tight with Peridot, and the wood was hard and slightly damp against her back. The green gem agreed with an 'ouch'.

Just then, light poured in on them as Lapis Lazuli entered the barn. She closed it to seal herself in from the weather outside, and turned around to see Peridot and Amethyst in their predicament. The technician gem's blond hair was scattered and messy since it had been pressed into a tiny space, and Amethyst's lay splayed out under her trapped form. Their legs were intertwined painfully and they were pressed together under the black jacket uncomfortably, with Peridot's hands pinned to her sides and hidden.

Peridot seemed very uncomfortable with her roomates gaze, so much so that she jolted herself upright, pleading "It's not what it looks like!" when it was exactly what it looked like. Disappointingly, the jacket freed her, being torn in half in the process.

She looked down at Amethyst, the sealed zipper and arms hanging off her back. The rest lay under the bulky quartz.

"I did not mean for that to happen."


	4. Chapter 4

**Jealousy boils above the surface of the ice.**

* * *

"Wow! This is…spectacular!" Peridot commented on the huge ice rink that lay before the Crystal gems (plus Lapis). The dark purple shirt that Amethyst didn't give her swished as she ran to the barricade surrounding the rink with Steven, borrowed purple mittens clamping onto the barrier in anticipation. Citizens of the city slid around the court on thin blades in familiar groups, many people clinging to the sides because of their lack of balance. Mayor Dewey had really gone all out for Beach city to have a (temporary) ice rink to celebrate some sort of occasion. The set up was in an old warehouse, Amethyst noting it was the one she wrestled in frequently as the Purple Puma.

"Isn't it?" Steven squeaked as he surveyed it with the Peridot. "Ice skating is a lot of fun, and I'm sure you and Lapis will pick it up in no time." He grinned, watching Lapis come over to them.

"It's frozen water. Like our lake, but bigger." She observed, her eyes showing faint excitement.

"Exactly! And you can take advantage of its frozenness and skate on it with special shoes." Steven explained, pointing to a little area where visitors could change in and out of the provided ice skates.

"Okay, we're back!" Pearl announced, coming back from the ticket booth with her arm linked with Garnet's. They both wore beanies, gloves and snow jackets, rugged up for no other reason but aesthetic. "We purchased the rink passes. Lapis," she turned to the blue gem specifically. "Garnet and I bought adult passes for you as well as us, so if any attendee has reason to ask you your age, show them this" she handed the gem a folded paper wrist band "and present yourself as an adult. It's the closest we can translate our ages to in human terms. Well, ignoring 'elderly' due to our forms not aging."

Lapis put the arm band on and nodded.

Pearl went to Steven, Amethyst and Peridot, dipping down slightly. "Here are your passes." She handed out to the three of them a different coloured paper band than Lapis'.

Amethyst had a look over the band as she donned it and realised that it was a child pass. "Hey! Why do I gotta have a kiddy one? I'm not a kid!" she complained, huffing at Pearl and crossing her arms.

"True, but your behaviour suggests otherwise." She teased. "Aside from that, in all truth, your size convinced the ticket booth attendant that you were under 18 years of age, prompting us to take the opportunity of human error to get less expensive tickets for you and Peridot."

"Wow Pearl, you lied. Good job."

"Yes, excellent job, Pearl. It is always good to buy less expensive things." Peridot congratulated from the side, probably unaware of Amethyst's sarcasm. "Right?"

"Yeah."

"I'm _actually_ under 18!" Steven shouted over everyone.

Pearl panicked and hurriedly shushed him, guilt pushing her to overreact. "Don't shout Steven! People might become suspicious!"

Garnet put a hand on Steven's shoulder and grabbed Pearl by the neck of her poofy jacket. "Pearl, calm down. Steven, it's probably not a good idea to say anything until we are inside."

"Got it." he nodded, and Pearl just sighed.

Steven and the gems all showed their wrist bands to the attendant to gain access to the ice skate rack area. He and Amethyst herded Peridot and Lapis to the seating area so they could measure their feet sizes and get their skates on. Amethyst found herself snorting as she helped Peridot wiggle her feet into the skates. She pushed, hands avoiding the blade as the Peridot's foot sunk into the shoe. Steven helped Lapis with hers beside them.

"It's such a small shoe. My foot feels compressed." Peridot remarked, twitching her booted foot as Amethyst helped with its pair.

"If they were loose, you wouldn't be able to stand, Peri." The purple gem giggled, getting the other shoe on. "It's all in the ankle, y'know? I think, anyway. Don't quote me on it."

"I won't."

Steven got Lapis shakily to her feet, so Amethyst aided her partner in getting up too. She held her wrists as the other gem used her torso to balance and stand on strange new feet. Peridot hugged herself to Amethyst so she could walk on the blades, making their gems nearly touch. At this, Amethyst flushed, although Peridot didn't seem to notice the close proximity of their beings.

"I'm sorry that you can't match your appearance to Garnet and Pearl's and be appropriately dressed for this climate." Peridot apologized, pulling the Amethyst's attention away from the warmth at her chest.

"S'okay, you didn't mean to tear the jacket and I shouldn't've made you to share it with me in the first place." Amethyst murmured, rubbing a circle on her back absentmindedly, guiding her to the ice to join Steven and Lapis. "The real problem here is this." She grabbed a handful of Peridot's shirt – the dark purple ripped one. "Why are you wearing this thing? 'Specially here, heh!"

"I understand that it stands out in this location, but I wanted to wear it because you gave it to me." She answered sincerely, standing her full height to look Amethyst in the eye. It was really cute because there was an undeniable blush situated on her face.

"O-Oh, well, I actually didn't give it to you to wear exactly, but that's really sweet P-dot." She pecked her on the cheek.

Amethyst stepped onto the ice in her flat boots, and Peridot followed. She obviously wasn't ready for the difference in terrain from the ground to the ice, slipping immediately. Luckily, Amethyst was holding her, albeit smirking.

"I can't stay steady! This stupid frozen water is making m-my balance off-center!" she sputtered, intimidated by the frozen water.

"It's okay Peridot, it takes practice. Just hold on to me." Amethyst shapeshifted ice skates for herself. She moved around so she was heading backwards towards where Lapis was holding onto the barrier, facing that way so Peridot could shuffle forwards with a little bit of confidence. "I'll teach you how to stand and move, and then we can skate together!" she smiled. "Whaddya think?"

Peridot must have liked the idea, as her demeanour changed. "Sounds 'cool'." She winked. Why was she so cute?!

"You little dork." Amethyst snorted, grinning. She leaned a little closer, nearly touching noses with Peridot. "I might just hafta-"

Amethyst was interrupted by a shocked yelp and a thump as Lapis slipped and fell just behind them. She left Peridot to the barrier and went to help the older gem up. "Heh, you okay?"

"Y-Yeah…" Lapis looked embarrassed, averting eye contact but being a good sport about her slip. "You'd think I'd be better at this since it involves water." She joked, holding onto Amethyst's wrists. Amethyst gave a supportive grin and helped Lapis regain her balance.

"As I was sayin' to Peri, it takes practise. You're pretty much working with new legs when you try ice skating for the first time. If you don't fall, you're not trying, y'know?"

"I guess so. It's something new." Lapis acknowledged, watching Peridot approach them by clinging and scooting along the barrier.

"Ready to learn to skate without that barrier, Peri?" Amethyst smirked, turning her body to the wobbling gem.

"Um, yes! Definitely!" She replied, pushing herself up off the side of the rink to stand with her hands confidently on her hips, grinning with confidence as her legs slowly drifted apart. Lapis snorted a little.

"Amethyst, look at this cool thing I can do!" Amethyst's head turned at the sound of her name on the voice of a familiar young adolescent. Steven skated towards them confidently, stopping at Amethyst and grabbing her arm.

"What is it, little dude?"

"We need more space than this in order for me to do my trick. I can do it near where Garnet and Pearl are, see?" he pointed to a chunk of ice, unoccupied save for the other Crystal gems.

"Yeah." Amethyst turned to Peridot and Lapis. "Be right back. Keep each other company, 'kay?"

"'kay'." Echoed Peridot.

"Right." Lapis did a thumbs up.

Steven's trick comprised of drawing a circle in the ice as he rotated backwards comfortably, pulling the shape tighter as he drew in for a spin. His finishing stance obviously gave away his teacher, and Amethyst shook her head with a smirk as she made her way back to her own pupil.

Lapis and Peridot appeared to be in the middle of a skirmish when she returned, with them gripping and pulling each other's shoulders. They both were looking downward like they were searching for fish in the ice when Amethyst realised they were trying to balance on each other without the barrier. They were huffing laughs as they struggled. Amethyst tried to ignore the jealous feelings she got when she watched Lapis grip Peridot. She felt a little stupid for having them. They weren't new either, she'd had them before regarding the two together. She reminded herself it was nothing, and that she'd skate with Peridot now anyway.

Peridot seemed to be explaining science stuff between giggles. "The physics are very interesting, as the key to balance plays on the relationship between the skater's form and the near flawless surface of the frozen water."

"Watch your foot, Peridot." Lapis cautioned disinterestedly, warning her of a possible slippage if she left her foot to continue sliding like it was.

"That looks fun." Amethyst chuckled, coming to rest her hands on Peridot's hips from behind. Her attention was obviously caught. "Ready to start?"

"M-Me and Lapis want to get more of a feel of it first, if that's okay by you." Peridot answered.

"We just need more time to build confidence." Lapis wobbled as she stood up straighter with Peridot's support.

Amethyst bit the inside of her cheek, getting a little frustrated. When could she skate with Peridot? This was the second postponement. "We haven't got all day here, guys."

"This is our first time, and we don't really know what we're doing." Peridot admitted shyly for the both of them. "There's no impression of what we're supposed to do, and no one to look up to."

A little flame burnt in the quartz's chest. That was what _she_ was trying to do; teach Peridot to skate (and maybe show off – only a little!). Now they were ignoring her in favour of each other. She was justified to be irritated by that.

"You guys want goals to aim for?" she growled, getting them to look at her. "Watch this." Amethyst drifted backwards to get more space before skating in a straight line, building up momentum. She went faster and faster and then made a leap, twisting in the air before landing comfortably. All was a very quick movement to the viewer, animated by growing frustration. She sternly glared at them to show her sentiment, but was greeted with the sight of ignorance.

The two barnmates were laughing as they shakily moved on the ice. Holding each other by the wrists, they performed a clunky waltz, replacing the support of the barrier with the support of each other. It didn't take long for them to get too into it, and Peridot's overconfidence made them both stumble and topple over. Lapis awkwardly held herself over a giggling Peridot, unable to stop snorting herself.

"Hey, I fell! I'm learning!" Peridot yelled joyously, cackling her head off. Lapis let out short gasps of laughter as she attempted to pick herself back up. Amethyst rolled her eyes and released an irritated breath.

"Lapis, you said this would happen!" Peridot laughed. "I guess I shouldn't have been so forward like you said. Listening might have avoided that 'slip-up', eh?"

Lapis just shrugged. "Eh, what can I say, falls are just predictable to me now. Our next meep morp should be called 'slip-up' to remind us of this."

"Yes! Spectacular idea!"

This was all Lapis' fault. She kept distracting Peridot from her goal of learning to actually skate, holding her back with her so she wouldn't be alone. Lapis had been alone in her mirror for thousands of years, what was less than an hour at the skating rink? Why couldn't Lapis just find someone else to skate with? Why couldn't she get her own girlfriend? Unless, that was the issue instead…

Lips pressed in a frown, Amethyst crossed her arms and leaned against the barrier. "You guys done falling over yet?" she huffed lowly.

"I think we'll just keep falling over again and again at this rate." Chuckled Lapis, who grabbed Peridot to help her up.

Amethyst stood up, deciding to be firm about this whole issue. She slid over to the two and grasped one of Peridot's arms. "Well maybe y'won't hafta 'cause I'm gonna teach Peri now." She moved to tug her away and end this tediousness.

Lapis put a soft hand on Amethyst's warm bicep. "Why're you so insistent? We've got plenty of time."

The hand was shirked off irritably. This was ridiculous. "Hey, _you've_ _had_ plenty of time! I wanna skate with my girlfriend! But you got her all to _yourself_!" Amethyst enunciated, pointing a provocative finger at the taller gem to show she was serious. Peridot looked worriedly in between them and at Amethyst, each of their hands grabbing one of her arms.

"Amethyst?" She tilted her head, but she was ignored.

Lapis' body language went on the defensive with the grace of habit, removing her hand from Peridot and wrapping her arms around herself. Her eyes narrowed at the little quartz. "What are you suggesting?" she questioned lowly, carefully.

"You know what I mean." Amethyst spat. It was just like her to dodge around.

Lapis questionably glanced at Amethyst for a while before her form gave a minute jolt in realisation. "I can't believe you'd think that." She said emotionlessly, although Amethyst knew her well enough to know there was plenty of emotion billowing inside of her.

"I can't believe you're playing dumb." Amethyst snorted regardless.

"I can't believe _you're that dumb_."

There was a growl building in Amethyst's throat, and she opened her mouth to yell back at Lapis when Peridot piped up and got in between them.

"Don't fight over this! Amethyst, you're being unreasonable."

"Oh, am I?" Amethyst snarked, in disbelief that Peridot was taking Lapis' side.

" **Yes** , you are." The green gem growled sternly, surprising Amethyst. "Me and Lapis are friends. You have no reason to believe otherwise. I don't know why you're acting so...so weird! You're not like this." Her eyes look somewhere between scared and sad. "This isn't you."

"Well maybe this _is_ me." Amethyst spat, shoving a thumb towards herself. "And maybe Lapis thinks differently about being 'friends' with you than you do."

"Amethyst!" Lapis raised her voice, obviously fed up. "I'm not trying to steal Peridot from you! She's my friend and I should be able to try earth things with her without some possessive quartz hovering around us!"

"Possessive?!" Amethyst cried, outraged. Her mane puffed out as a physical manifestation of her anger. "You think the problem is with me?!"

Lapis frowned and shrank back from the suddenly overbearing rage, and Peridot stepped forward to end it. "Yes! Unquestionably!"

Amethyst's eyes went wide and she felt like she'd been punched in the gut and winded. Peridot truly believed Amethyst was in the wrong. Was she in the wrong? No, she was only protecting Peridot. She was protecting their relationship. Why the heck did Peridot think _she_ was the one acting out of the ordinary, and the one with the problem? Couldn't she look at it from her side?

"We've all expressed our opinions, and you're the only one who insists Lapis has romantic feelings for me." Peridot elaborated. "You're the one being unnecessarily aggressive. You shouldn't attack her for something _you_ are imagining." Amethyst bit her tongue at that. "I know Lapis well. She's perfectly happy by herself, and even if she was looking for someone, she wouldn't lure away a person who is already in a relationship. She respects bonds between people, including ours. Why can't you see that?"

"Y-Yeah, well-!" Amethyst shouted, trying to yell something, anything. She didn't know how to explain herself even though she was feeling so strongly. This whole situation was spiralling into confusion. Lapis, was she really guilty of what Amethyst accused her of? It seemed less and less true, and that Amethyst was overreacting. And that pissed her off. Maybe she was, but she was too stubborn to admit it, especially with how deep her hole was dug now. "You just, you don't know what the heck you're talking about! You're defending the wrong gem! What about me, huh? I'm your girlfriend, not her!" she shoved her finger at Lapis while still glaring at Peridot.

Peridot leered through the words, although there was disappointment glimmering behind her fierceness. "It's unfortunate that you get jealous this easily."

The green gem had ignored everything Amethyst had said, so at that comment she decided to hold nothing back, which was a very bad thing to do. "I guess hurting people has always been your thing, huh?"

She knew she'd gone way too far, but at this point she didn't care; she wanted to inflict the hurt she was feeling, cold like the chilly bite of the ice or slicing like a lick of her whip. Lapis looked away from the scene and Peridot bristled.

"I think its best that you leave." She murmured icily, reminiscent of the days when her allegiance still resided with Homeworld, which was a little ironic in the situation.

"Fine. I should've never gotten in the way of you two. What a stupid quartz I am, thinking I'm _important_ to somebody!" she hollered spitefully, tugging off her child admission band and throwing it at the two (its paper build not letting it get very far).

Peridot was trying not to, but her face kept twisting into a pained expression. Lapis was peering down at her, trying to gauge how well she was holding herself together with a pitiful look.

Amethyst savoured it for all of two seconds, feeling Peridot deserved it before taking in the consequences of her actions. Her heart throbbed a little upon observing Peridot's form that wanted to do nothing else but retreat, and she felt like she'd used her whip on herself when Peridot's lips subtly wobbled. Amethyst unconsciously put a hand over her fake heart and swallowed, her eyes wide and feeling a prominent lump in her throat.

She turned away from the scene she had created quickly, the out-of-sight, out-of-mind principle taking hold. She slid out of the rink, ignoring Pearl's and Steven's shouts and changing her footwear back to boots before getting out of there as fast as she could. Lined-up humans who didn't get out of the way fast enough were toppled over with a push of her hand. Every inhale was terribly shaky and her mouth felt dry. There was too much colour, too much noise, too much happiness; she didn't belong there after what she'd done.

She didn't realise she was crying until her vision blotted and blurred, fat tears dripping down her face.

* * *

Could their love plunge under the ice and never resurface?! :O

Pearl buying kid tickets for Amethyst and Peridot is what my mum does for me when we go places 'cause I'm so short and I pass as a kid easy despite nearly being an adult.

I hope Amethyst's guilt-tripping game was on point because I'm bad at writing conflict. I would love constructive criticism on the dialogue/actions. Thankyou for waiting this long; school is an ass. I'm a bit unhappy with the pacing, but I'll live. Just.

Caro-something, my best friend _ever_ , who I talk to on more than one social media, who I have entrusted my irl name to, who is my aro friend, occasional flirt, one-time superhero duo partner, amiga from the southern hemisphere and of course fellow amedot shipper, is to be known to have my thanks on beta-reading and suggesting savage dialogue to this fanfic before it's postage.

Thanks also to Alex-second-best who I also got to beta-read this fic. Caro gets a longer thanks because we made a deal XD sorry dude


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